End of page signal alarm



United States Patent [72] Inventors Dorothy S. Bennett;

Horace D. Brown, 2975 Jackson Ave., Miami, Florida 33133 [21] AppLNo. 719,881 [22'] Filed April 9, 1968 [45] Patented Oct. 6, 1970 541 END or PACE SIGNAL ALARM 2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl .197/189 [51] lnt.Cl. B41j 29/44 [50] Field ofSearch 197/187, 189, 192

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 743,350 11/1903 Treadway 197/189X 2,168,195 8/1939 Englishul; 197/189 2,233,775 3/1941 Dow 197/187 2,255,329 9/1941 Payton, 197/189 2,293,283 8/1942 Dow 197/1 87 2,298,590 10/1942 Rich 197/189 2,404,861 7/1946 Petschauer..... 197/189 ,163 10/1914 Neidig 197/189 28 1/l9 28 Deisch 197/1 2,535,539 12/1950 Lee et a1 Primary Examiner-Ernest T. Wright, Jr.

rotation thereof. Continued rotation of the platen shaft shifts the bell clapper along the selectively positioned, now stationary trigger until released thereby to strike the bell, whereby a variable bottom margin is indicated.

Patented Oct. 6, 1970 Sheet 2 orz IIyVEN TORS sun OF PAGE SIGNAL ALARM This invention relates to an improvement in typing machines such as typewriters and bookkeeping machines in which a page of manuscript moves past a stationary type line. The main object of this invention is to provide means which will automatically sound a signal alarm to alert the operator of such a typing machine when said page moves to a position at which it is desirable to type the final line on said page. To the best knowledge of the inventors no such means have ever been accomplished. It is also within the personal knowledge and experience of the inventors that the absence of such an improvement is a constant inconvenience and hardship on those persons who regularly operate these machines. While various methods have been used to give visible indications of the position of the page end, they require thoughtful attention from the operator and are sometimes forgotten and therefore ineffective. The present invention provides means for the selection of an end of page margin when the page is inserted into the machine, at the same time the side margins are selected. Thereafter the operator can concentrate on the manuscript and ignore the page movement. When the finalline position is reached, the audible alarm automatically sounds to alert the operator.

Another object of this invention is to provide an end of page signal alarm for typing machines which is both foolproof in operation and economically feasible.

The objects and many advantages of this invention will be fully apparent from the followingspecification when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawing, in which:

FIG. 1.is an isometric view of a typewriter platen and paper table modified to accept this invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional end view of the platen and paper table showing how the actuating member ofthe signal alarm functions in response to the page movement to brake the rotation of an index wheel.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the platen end knob calibrated on one side in line spaces and on the opposite side in inches.

FIG. 4 is an end view looking into the knob and bell and showing the spiral spring and hammer attached to the platen center shaft.

FIG. 5 is a detail section of the manner in which a paper feeler is attached to a rotatable rod within a supporting hollow shaft.

Referring in greater detail to the drawing, in whichlike nu-v merals indicate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral 2, FIG. 1, represents a typewriter platen having an, in.- tegral shaft 18 to which is attached a knob 9, a bell 19,and a spring 8. It is clear from the detail of FIG. 4 that spring 8 spirals outward from shaft 18 and has a hammer attached to its free and movable end. Spring 8 is situated within bell 19 i so that the hammer 15 is in line with the inside rim 20 of the bell 19, shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, and is operable to strike said bell to produce an audible alarm.

An index wheel 3 is frictionally mounted on shaft l8,v FIG. 1, in spaced relation with bell l9 and spring 8. Wheel 3 is rotatable on shaft l8 and is operably restrainedfrom rotating with said shaft. Wheel 3 has teeth which correspond in number and spacing to the common platen spacer wheel to which this invention is adapted. The teeth 22 in wheel 3 serve as stops and are engageable by brake 10. Wheel 3 rotates with platen 2 when brake 10 is not engaged. An indicating pointer 4.and a: trigger pin 5 are integral parts ofindex wheel 3. a

Apaper table 12, FIG. 1, is common to typing machines, and

is shown modified to accommodate the present invention. A

hollow shaft 11, FIGS.,1 and 5, is attached to raised sections 21, FIGS. 1 and 2, at each end of said table and has an opening 23 in its center through which a paper feeler 13 is attached to a rod 14. The rod 14 extends through one end of shaft 11. A latching member or brake l0, integrally fixed to rod 14, is in juxtaposition with index wheel 3 and is movable with the rotation of rod 14 when feeler 13 drops into opening 16 to engage with and prevent the rotation of said index wheel 3 as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 1 shows a page of manuscript 17 passing between shaft 11 and table 12. The paper feeler 13 is supported in an upward position by page 17. The end view in FIG. 2 shows the upward position of feeler 13 in dotted lines. The disengaged position of brake 10 is also shown in dotted lines. In FIG. 2 the end of page 17 has just passed beneath feeler 13. At this instant feeler 13, by its own weight, has dropped into the opening 16 in table 12. This has caused rod 14 to rotate several degrees. The rotating motion of rod 14 is transferred: to brake 10, causing it to swivel into its braking engagement with index wheel 3.

The signal alarm is comprised of a bell 19, a spiral spring 8, and a hammer 15. The bell 19 is mounted on shaft 18 within the platen knob 9. The spiral spring 8 is situated within the bell' l9 and is rigidly fastened at one end M to shaft 18. The opposite end 25 of spring 8 spirals outwardly around shaft 18 and has a hammer l5 rigidly secured to its outer end.

Trigger pin 5 in index wheel 3 extends horizontally along shaft 18 and into the orbital path of movement of spiral spring 8. When brake 10 engages and holds wheel 3 and pin 5 in a stationary position, continued rotation of shaft 18 brings the mid portion of spiral spring 8 into physicalcontact with pin 5. As shaft 18 rotates stillfurther, spring 8becomesincreasingly compressed beneath pin 5.

FIG. 1 shows the spring 8 compressed by trigger 5, just one line space from being released. In this view, however, brake 10 is not engaged, therefore, wheel 3 will continue to rotate with the platen shaft 18 and spring 8-will remain in the compressed position shown. This position corresponds to the maximum margin length of the present configuration of this invention and pointer 4would therefore indicate 24'spaces or 3% inches on the periphery of knob 9. When the end of page 17 moves across opening 16, feeler 13 drops into opening 16. This movement of feeler 13 rotates rod 14 and swings brake 10 into engagement with the stop teeth 22. Wheel 3'and pin 5 are then held in a stationary position. The rotation of platen Z to the next line space will cause the outward end of spiral spring 8-.to pass beneath pin 5 and spring back toward its normal position. Because of the tension stored in the compressed spring 8, FIG. 1, however, it returns with sufficient momentum to transverse its normal position and cause hammer 15 to strike bell 19. thus sounding the alarm andalerting the operator thatthe preselected margin has been reached.

From the position illustrated in FIG. 1, the alarm willsoundwhen the end of page 17 is 24 spaces from the type line. Any desirable margin length may be preset by the operator by setting pointer 4 to. the corresponding number on knob'9uThis is madesimplebecause of the ratchet action of wheel'3 and brake 10 which permits wheel 3 to revolve backwards even when brake I0 is engaged.

The position of pointer 4, FIG. 1, coincides with the position of trigger 5 on wheel 3. Pointer 4 is rigidly attached to wheel 3, as shown in FIG. 1, and extends horizontally over the periphery 27, indicated in FIGS. 1,3 and 4, in spaced relation to the indicia 26,FIG. 3, and is settable to visibly indicate the margin length at which the alarm will operate. By way of ex ample only, a typist might desire to. maintain a 4 inch margin at the end of a page 17. The pointer 4 would simply be hand held to prevent rotation of wheel 3 while the knob 9 would be manually rotated until the pointer 4 would indicate 4 inches, or 24 line spaces, onthe periphery 27. In the present configuration of this invention, when page 17 moves across opening 16,.FIG. 2, and permits feeler 13 to drop into opening 16, the end of the page 17 will be24 line spaces from the type line.

Brake 10, by the dropping motion of feeler 13, is caused to swing into engagement with stop teeth 22 shown in FIG. 2. Wheel 3 and pointer 4 will thereby be held from any further rotation. However, the knob 9, the bell, and the spring 8, all being rigidly fastened to shaft 18' as seen in FIG. 1, will continue to rotate with platen 2 as the work progresses. When the typist rotates the platen 2 to the next line space, spring 8' will rotate away from trigger 5 and spring outward causinghammer 15 to strike bell 19 to alert thetypist that the preselected 4 inch margin has been reached.

By manually rotating wheel 3, trigger can be positioned to delay its operating engagement with spring 8 after the page end moves across opening 16. For example, if pointer 4 is set to indicate six line spaces, or 1 inch, on the periphery 27, trigger 5 will be 18 spaces away from its operating position relative to spring 8. Trigger 5 will remain at this setting and will rotate with the spring 8 until the page end moves across opening 16, at which instant brake 10 will again be engaged to prevent any further rotation of wheel 3. At this instant, the end of the page 17 is 24 line spaces away from the type line, and trigger 5 is 18 line spaces away from its operative position with spring 8. Therefore, when the platen 2 rotates an additional 18 spaces, the alarm will sound. Six spaces will remain between the end of the page 17 and the type line.

We Claim:

1. In a typing machine having a rotatable platen and a platen shaft, a page end margin indicator comprising: a wheel frictionally disposed on said platen shaft for rotation therewith, a series of stops concentrically arranged on said wheel corresponding in spacing to the line space movement of said platen, a trigger rigidly attached to said wheel, brake means engageable with said stops to restrain said wheel against rotation with said platen shaft, brake operating means to operate said brake means in response to the movement of a page end thereunder, and a signal alarm means including an alarm actuator means rigidly attached to said platen shaft for rotation therewith, said alarm actuator means being engageable with said trigger and actuated thereby upon continued rotation of said platen shaft subsequent to operation of said brake means, whereby said signal alarm means is operated to indicate the passage of said page end.

2. The page end margin indicator of claim 1 further comprising: a cylindrical platen knob rigidly attached to the end of said platen shaft for. rotation therewith, said platen knob having indicia on the periphery thereof corresponding to said stops on said wheel, and a pointer on said wheel adjacent to said indicia, whereby said wheel and said trigger may be selectively positioned relative to said alarm actuator means in accordance with said indicia to thereby provide an alarm indicative of a selectively variable bottom margin on a page. 

